Likelihood of Exposure

Deeper than you think

Yahoo! News reports more bad news about those unfortunate, and most certainly deceased, miners:

The latest hole drilled into a collapsed mine where six men are trapped broke through an area too small for the men to survive, a lawyer for several of the men’s families said Saturday.
“The only thing they told us is there is no void where the sixth hole is; there is no space,” attorney Colin King said after a meeting between the families and mine officials.

I find it troubling — and yes, I am a lawyer — that the interlocutor for the families here is a lawyer. A personal injury lawyer.

Naturally he is counting the dollars on some wrongful death settlement, whether the law supports such an outcome in this case or not. He actually is probably subject to disqualification due to a conflict of interest — his involvement in the facts here makes him a likely witness.

But this is besides the point. This is not a juncture where personal injury lawyers should be playing a public role or, frankly, even be particularly involved in a situation such as this. Something is wrong with our society that one is.